


Behind Shields

by Polythropos



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst, Debating, F/F, Fluff, Hyjinks and secrets, Kingdoms, Knight/Champion! Luz, Monsters, Princess! Amity, SECRET ROOM OF SHORTCUTS, badass Amity, badass Luz, cursing, duels, ew blight parents are mean as heck, i did not edit, it's free content lumity fans come get some moxie, no beta i burn at stake, ongoing, parry this u fucking casual, so hungry for medieval au i made one, that name is underated i swear, this fic is straight from the fire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26698327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polythropos/pseuds/Polythropos
Summary: It was that time in her life to chose someone worthy. Amity Blight had detested this date for months.But she was both a Blight and a princess, and so she would. If only life could ever go with the plan.
Relationships: Alador Blight/Odalia Blight, Amity Blight & Edric Blight & Emira Blight, Amity Blight & Luz Noceda, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 86
Kudos: 309





	1. Handpick

**Author's Note:**

> :D I had an idea and I rolled with it.  
> Sitll debating over whether or not I should continue, lemme know what you'll think.
> 
> 9/29 - looks like I'm gonna continue! More Fluffy goodness but oh no plot

It was that time for the youngest princess of the Abomination Kingdom.

The time to pick a suitable companion to live their life with. To choose someone worthy of their esteemed title. It was time to choose a warrior with the might of a million abominations and the wisdom beyond the perceivable oracle’s eyes. Many before her picked the strongest, the bravest, the smartest. But Princess Amity wanted something more than someone worthy. She wanted something exceptional.

Afterall, she knew what she was choosing. Her father had spoken fondly of his own chosen knight, a fearless champion in the darker times when he was younger and thought it fit to challenge the entire world. Alas, she had never met the glorified knight because of their untimely death to some rogue witches. Now her father had plenty of bodyguards, but none of them shared a sliver of what comradery the first knight had.

Amity didn’t want a bodyguard like that. Bonds were weak and people of all sorts brought her down. She was a Blight, a royal in the greatest kingdom in the world. Her fate was decided for her and she embraced it, there was nothing wrong with being groomed for a leadership position. Though she was the youngest, she was the one who dealt with the small tasks of helping her father and mother with the delegation of tasks. Sometimes, she was even invited to court and the rest of the time she spent in the library.

A bodyguard to guard her would have to be someone from the heat of the forge, attentive at all times and ready at a moments notice. They would also have to be ruthless. If there was someone trying to take her life, the guard would have to eliminate the threat without a second thought. In fact, they were supposed to make sure that such an attempt would never happen. Whether it be by burning down the rioting villages or threatening the people, she would have to be safe.

A quiet bodyguard would also be nice. Someone who spoke only when spoken too. Someone who said the same things, like reading lines off a script. Someone with no personality to get attached to.

The most important thing she wanted her guard to have was incredible magic. Magic that can make them invincible. To have a bodyguard that was weaker than she was would be a disgrace to the kingdom and also make her look bad. Amity did not need protection from someone she could obliterate with just a simple fire spell. Picking somebody weak was not an option. Amity would rather go without a bodyguard than a weak one.

If the bodyguard can not protect both themselves and her at the same time, then Amity would refuse to pick them. Fools who only dreamt of dying with honor were useless. If every assasination attempt resulted in a dead bodyguard it also meant that the kingdom’s training of knights was severely lacking. Amity didn’t want to see death either, that kind of thing could ruin even the strongest of warriors.

_ Surely it’s not much to ask for a qualified guard that does its duty and nothing more. _ Amity finished her list of qualifications and sent it off with her abomination, summoning it without second thought. The list was something expected of the youngest princess. Someone who did their job, nothing more. Even for a job as close as a Chosen Champion.

“Hey, Mittens!” An excited voice called from the doorway, “I saw your list.”

Amity whirled around in her seat with a mix of shock and fury. “Oh, great,” she muttered as she glared at her older sister, “And what of it?”

“C’mon Mittens,” her brother said as he walked in through the doorway first, “You can do better than this. Where’s your sense of adventure? A Chosen Champion is more than a simple bodyguard.”

Her sister nodded, “An enchanted suit of armor could satisfy your list. This makes you sound like someone with no social skills.”

Amity flushed a bit at that jab to her social life but the embarrassment turned to spite, “A Chosen Champion is my last resort of defense. I am entrusting my life to this stranger. If they mess up in  _ any _ way it will be _ my head  _ that pays the price. Literally.”

“Geez, stop being so dramatic,” Emira said as she crumpled up Amity’s list, “No one’s going to make it past castle security. Besides, why would they want to kidnap you anyways?”

“Wouldn’t they want to kidnap us instead?” Edric asked, striking a pose, “Afterall, we are the  _ older _ siblings.”

Emira and Amity gave him a deadpanned look. His eyes darted between theirs and he huffed indignantly. “Are you saying I’m not worth enough to be kidnapped? I’ll have you know that I am an important political figure in the court of legislation.”

“Don’t make our job harder than it is already. There’s been rumors of an imposter.” The royal heirs turned towards the doorway as a familiar knight strolled into the room with their personally equipped armor. Her armor was obviously enchanted and she had tucked her helmet under her arm, revealing her face and infamous hook earring.

Viney rolled her eyes, “I think it’s a wonderful idea for her Highness to choose someone well trained. Instead of choosing the least capable person in the entire capital.”

“Aw, but Viney!” Emira cooed, “You’re doing such a good job!”

“In any case,” Viney continued as she ignored Emira’s compliment with a pointed look, “the border disputes between the Potion Kingdoms have gotten severely intense. We’ve gotten reports of at least 2 hundred casualties and around 60 deaths in the last few months.”

Amity frowned in light of this new information. She and the castle gossip were well aware of the growing animosity between her mother, Odalia Blight and the Potions Queen. This new information could cause the matriarch to announce a war. The start of a war over borders seemed like an arrogant symbol of hubris but wars have been fought for less.

Of course, war was not going to happen and she hoped it wouldn’t, but the kingdom was in a state of disarray. A common enemy could unite the rebellions in the mud swamps who were tired of their lack of worker’s benefits in supplying the kingdom with abomination clay. It was a manipulative strategy, but a strategy nonetheless that was in their favor.

“The King has demanded your presence in the throne room,” Another servant said as they arrived. Amity glared at the servant, did everybody in this castle make a habit of storming into her room?

“And you are?” Amity asked with a cold glare she had perfected, mimicking the silent stormy face of her father.

The servant ducked his head, “Stone the servant, your highness.”

“Stone?” Emira asked, waving her finger smugly, “That’s a name I haven’t heard of.”

“Oh!” Edric exclaimed as he snapped his fingers in realisation, “You must be one of the new guys then.”

Amity ignored her siblings' cheap attempts at familiarity, she didn’t know why they bothered. “Well, Stone, I suggest you read over the castle rules again. Entry to the room of any royal may only occur after several requirements are met.” The servant seemed to tremble under her words, she filed that away for future references as she noticed his shaking hands. “Dismissed.”

Viney stiffened as the servant hurried out, “If his Majesty has demanded for our presence then we should go at once.”

Emira patted the iron shoulder pad of the knight’s armor playfully, “It’s not should, it’s a must.”

Viney nodded robotically, “Right, I’m sorry for my mistake, your highness.”

* * *

  
  


“Amity Blight,” Her father greeted, his words dark and heavy as always. “It is time for you to pick your Chosen Champion from the Royal Barracks. You have a list of requirements, correct?”

Her mother smugly grinned, “Ah, but she has not sent her list in. Unpreparedness is unbefitting of a Blight, Amity.”

Amity’s eyebrow twitched at the critique.  _ I did write my list! If the twins hadn’t thought of it as boring, Father would have gotten it minutes ago!  _ She bowed her head respectfully, “Yes, Mother.”

“It is concerning that you would slack off on this regard, your siblings were much more enthusiastic in choosing their shields.” Her mother continued with the lecture. “You are a Blight, and one day the responsibility of the name could be given to you. Its honor is not something your lackluster attitude deserves. Perhaps you forgot the importance of this choice.”

Amity did not think the choice she ‘chose’ was the thing her mother was talking about.

“Well, I must be off to check on the twins. They must be done with their legislature case.” The Queen stood up and left, barely giving Amity any sign that she knew she was there.

A deep sigh escaped from her father as Amity gave him her undivided attention. The man sat on his gold and amethyst throne, the gems illuminating his figure with reflections of dark red and purple. He always made her feel so small, and it wasn’t just the obvious height difference.

“Your mother is correct, the Choosing of your Champion is a monumental task. It is a symbol of independence. We will not protect you any further and your life will reflect your success in this choice.” He looked down and stared at her in the eye, “Do not disappoint us.”

Amity felt her hand shake as she hurried to hide it behind her as she bowed her head low, not daring to raise it up in fear. “I will not, Father.”

“Rise.” Amity did and was met with the same stone cold face as the one before. “You are a logical person, so you understand that a Champion is not the summation of their skills in combat nor their wits in the brunt of flames. They are a tool you can further use to better yourself. Learn from them what you can’t learn from the elites. Their world is not one of perfection, and from this you can learn to rule by fixing the mistakes.”

The King stood up from his throne, “I will accompany you to the Barracks myself. We have summoned the best knights and squires from all of the cities.” The thundering steps of his shoes as he stepped down from his throne echoed throughout the throne room.

Once he made it down, Amity released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. He looked down at her and used an arm to gesture towards the exit. Amity bowed her head, “Thank you, Father.”

She turned and made her way out as he followed her.

“I have mentioned my chosen knight to you many times before. You recall, yes?”

“Yes, Father.”

“Then you must know how much they meant to the restructure of our Kingdom. My own father was too weak willed of a man to squash the rebellions and the Wild Witches. I have done the world a service they shall not forget by retaining and maintaining order. However it is in their honor that we live in peace, for they do the fighting for us and lay down their lives as well.”

King Alador paused and Amity did as well, letting her father lead her to the barracks. “There are many things books can not teach. There is pain that words can not describe in justice. You must suffer and learn as I did.”

As they entered the section of the castle that the knights frequently roamed, King Alador paused in front of the Knight’s Coat of Arms. “Tell me what the symbol shows.”

Amity took a deep breath to steel herself before reciting the quote from one of her textbooks that she had slaved over for the past year, “It is a shield in front of two crossed swords, with the background of the royal colors of purple and the imprint of a symbols from before the Emperor’s reign.”

“You are incorrect.” Amity nearly swallowed her tongue. “Watch as I turn the symbol around.” The King waved his hand casually and turned the seal upside down, causing the dark imprint of dark navy blue reveal itself to something that looked like-

“ _ An Abomination _ . The shadow of it, at least. This is the perspective my chosen champion told me the day we met. To become a knight, one must become the shadow of the King and Kingdom. We must be worthy of this.” He leveled her with a smooth stare, as if to say ‘you are not worthy’.

“I-I don’t understand, Father,” Amity said.  _ I don’t… Am I not who you want me to be? _

“And that is why you must learn to understand.” He waved his hand again and the seal rotated back to its normal position. With the step of his foot, the door opened for the two of them. “They are like our abominations, but they require more from us than just our magic and control.” 

With a sweep of his cloak, he turned around and left.

Amity stood there as she stared at the open door.  _ This was it _ .

As she walked through the enchanted doors, she found herself face to face with the esteemed barracks of the Royal AbomiKnights. The Captain of the Guard, a seniored warrior greeted her the moment she walked through the door with a kneel of respect. “Your Highness, welcome to the castle barracks of us humble knights. Feel free to inspect all who are here.”

Amity nodded, “Rise, Captain. Thank you for your service.”

The Captain stood up and straightened their shoulders, “It is my duty.” Then they took a red ribbon from their side belt and presented it to her. “His Majesty has granted me the honor of giving you the token. Simply give your chosen knight the ribbon and they shall be moved to be your bodyguard.”

“Yes, I know.” Amity said curtly.

The Captain took it in stride and saluted, “Then to proceed with the choosing, I shall leave you to it. If you ever approach any trouble, do not hesitate to call me.”

The princess nodded and inspected the ribbon. It was scarlet and blank, but obviously enchanted. The ribbon was enchanted by the highest of oracles from the Oracle Kingdom so that her chosen one’s name may appear, should they sincerely desire to protect her. To those who do not know, the ribbon will remain a ribbon.

Amity wrapped the ribbon around her hand, using her magic to tie it up nicely. Then she stared through the crowds of witches, too many of them to count. As per tradition, none of the knights except for the Captain had known about when the choosing would take place. But the knights in the common room were sure to have known by now and she could not bear to choose with that in mind.

She quickly made her way towards the palace courtyards where some knights were training, staying further away and approaching them from behind as to not draw attention to herself. Some knights were whacking at training dummies, others were running along the cobbled path in their armour, and some were goofing off. Well, not some. Only one.

Amity frowned, irritated that the knight that kept goofing off. She stepped forward to tell them off, only to be hit with the sudden suspicion that the knight wasn’t a knight at all. The knight kept looking towards a nearby tree, their body hiding whatever it was they were looking at. Could it be a weapon? A ploy of somesort? Were they the imposter?

She stopped to take a look at the knight. Unruly brown hair spiking out of its helmet, small in stature with leather armor and a rusty sword that could be seen a long ways away. Obviously a poor knight with a lack of funding but skillful enough to pass the exams. An astounding accomplishment, some might even call them an inspiration, but this lack of background also gave way for thieves and criminals.

“You there! State your name and business!” Amity commanded as she neared the knight.

The knight shot up with a yelp of surprise before they turned around, visor covering their eyes comically. “I’m practising, I swear!” The knight lifted their visor and stared at the princess, not recognising her. “Uh-Who are you?”

“An awful lie and an equally awful ploy,” Amity sneered, “Did you really think it would be this easy?”

“Hey! I passed through all the defences, alright? I don’t need super duper shiny swords to get my point across!” The assassin argued.

Amity furrowed her brows.  _ An odd threat to make. Is this the best assassin they could send for? I feel insulted.  _ “Point? You don’t even belong here, why don’t you just leave? It’s obvious you’re no match for me anyways.”

The assassin frowned, “You know I’ve gotten really sick of bullies like you.”

“Is that so?” Amity growled, “So you’ve resorted to pandemonium instead?”

“I don’t even know what that means, but it sounds cool so yes!” The assassin shouted before pointing a finger at her defiantly, “I challenge you to a knight’s duel!”

Amity waved her hand around, producing a blazing fire with her magic. She narrowed her eyes viciously, “I accept.”

* * *

“Oh crud, she knows fire magic.” Luz muttered as she stared at the angry witch sending massive blasts of fire at her. Hitting the ground with a clumsily executed roll, Luz twisted out from under the torrents of fire and leaped up, slashing with her sword. The witch moved out of the way, she looked really young and pretty.

With golden eyes that were kind of like Eda’s but much more fierce and focused, like an eagle or something, and green-ish hair that dreamed her face as well as the browns of her roots showing, she was very pretty.

Pretty upset, too.

Luz ducked her head just in time to see the branch above her erupt into flame, threatening to fall onto her. She leaped out of the way right before she heard the sickening crack of the branch, charging to close in on her opponent, braving the heat as she slammed into the witch with her shoulder. Or she should have if the witch hadn’t summoned an Abomination. The purple goo was wet and sticky.

This would be a pain to wash out of her uniform too. 

Another burst of fire threatened to fry her face off and she wondered who had the ferocity to do that. This witch was not playing with her. She was going for the kill, obviously not stopping until Luz was nothing but human ashes.  _ Who are you?  _

But Luz didn’t have time to think as another blast of fire scorched at her leather shoulder pad. She could feel burning heat on her cheek, like she was being boiled alive. Luz slammed her shoulder into the goo of the Abomination, effectively putting out the fire and getting even more dirty before she rammed through the Abomination, rolling around on the ground, covered in sand and purple goo.

Before the witch could recover from losing the Abomination, Luz knocked the witch off her feet and grabbed at her hands, preventing her from casting even more spells. “Stop trying to kill me! And stop telling me what I can and can’t be.”

With an incredible feat of strength, the witch rolled them around so that she could pin the knight down. Her golden eyes narrowed contemplatively, “What?”

Luz released the witch’s hands and squirmed under the weight of the witch, “I’ve more than proven that I’m capable of being a knight. I don’t want your threats, and frankly I don’t care about them. So I’m going to keep being who I want to be and one day you’ll see just how wrong you are.”

“You’re a knight?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t look like one.”

“I’m going to ignore that comment because it is mean and totally unnecessary.”

“If you really are a knight, don’t you know who I am?” The witch asked as she stood up and brushed the flecks of grass from her tunic and pants. She kept the bottom of her boot stomped on the knight’s stomach, pressing on it painfully.

Luz struggled to breeze, wheezing as the air left her lungs with another forceful stomp. “Wh-What’s that supposed to mean?”

The witch lifted her foot and whirled around, “I can’t believe I wasted my time on you.”

Luz took a deep breath, her lungs aching for air as she tried to catch her breath.  _ Wasted your time?  _ Pain struck through her as she tried to take another deep breath. Eventually she gave up and laid there on the ground. Suddenly the sounds of a running person came barreling towards them. Along with some sort of screeching noise.

The whining noise of magic hurreled through the air above her, striking the witch in the back. Luz heard a squeak of surprise before a large thud hit the ground.  _ Is she alright? _ While magic accidents happen a lot in the courtyard, usually the knight’s armor could lessen the damage. Wasn’t the other knight armorless? A total violation of the rules the Captain gave out this week. There were all supposed to be in uniform! That’s why she left her cloak in the stables.

Luz sat up straight and started at the servant. “Hey, that was uncalled for!” She hastily stood up, causing her visor to fall and block off her vision. When she finally lifted the visor up, the servant and witch were gone.

_ Where did they go? _

“No,” Luz told herself as she picked up her rusty sword, “You’re not gonna follow them because you can’t mess up again.” She stared at the ground, concern flowing through her. Luz bent down and investigated the place the witch fell. “Huh, she dropped a ribbon. I better return it to her!”

Luz picked it up and tucked it into her pouch, determined to give it back to the really mean witch.  _ Now, where did they go? _ She returned to her tree, stashing her Azura book into a safer place as she took chalk from her pouch and drew a door knob. Dotting the lock, Luz opened the door and walked right through.

After walking a bit, she made it to the center of the secret hideout, where doors circled around the place reaching towards impossible heights. This was the infamously dubbed ‘Secret Room for Shortcuts’. There was no one there. Not even Viney. Luz walked over to the board and scribbled a message for the older girl. 

**‘Today’s been weird’ -Glyph**

She then turned the board over and wrote:  **Troublemaker Glyph**

The chalk disappeared, revealing a complex blueprint of the entire Isles. Luz ignored the holographic map and focused on the Abomination Kingdom. She was looking for that witch from earlier. Luz had shoved her whole body through her magical signature, so she knew what it felt like. It felt like a icy fire locked in a cage. She searched through the flares of every witch that appeared on the map, running her finger through the hologram’s copy of the witch’s magical signature.

Luz was a human and since humans lacked any magic of their own, that meant they were both extremely sensitive to magic. It was like a blind man seeing color, the new feeling of magic was foreign to their primal instincts. And she had gotten a lot better at identifying different magical signatures with the help from Eda.

_ “Kid, you may forget what they look like or what they're called. But you’ll never forget how they made you feel.”  _

She noticed two signatures deep in the forest and brushed through them. The oak of a tree and the cold flames brushing against metal.  _ That was the witch! Look out world, Luz gottem’! _

Luz waved the holographic map away and tapped a light glyph that was in her pouch, “Point me.”

The light scurried away towards another door and Luz followed it.

* * *

  
  


Amity woke up to the uncomfortable feeling of chains tying her to a wall and the damp fog from the outdoors. She felt the cold stone against her back as the metal cuffs trapped her arms against the wall, preventing her from casting any spell. Opening her eyes, she saw that blasted servant from before. The one who had stormed into her room, and apparently, the imposter among the castle.

“You’re finally awake,” ‘Stone’, if it really was his name, spat out condescendingly. “Pity, I thought of giving you mercy and killing you while you slept. It would’ve been a much better fate than you deserve.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Amity shouted, defiantly pulling at the restraints and growling at the older witch.

“Oh, you know what I mean. Don’t think you can turn a blind eye on all the wrongs in your world. You’ve spent your whole lives believing you are perfect and untouchable, but I am standing here above you.” He started to cast a spell, the sinister red spell circle revealing it to be dark magic, “I am among the mightiest-”

“Hey, you forgot your ribbon!” From out of the branches, the knight appeared. 

Stone growled while Amity felt like facepalming, if her hands were free, which they weren’t.

“Oh, I’m interrupting something, aren’t I?” the knight said almost apologetically before glancing at Amity and noticing her chained up to a stone wall. “You know, what? I’m not sorry.”

The knight took out the rusty sword and pointed it threateningly at the imposter, “Let her go.”

Stone simply laughed before he redirected the spell and shot it towards the knight, the dark red bolt of lightning striking the knight through its chest. “Fools.” He raised a fist to the skies, “I am invincible. All who face my wrath shall fall before me.”

Amity stared at the collapsed knight.  _ Are they dead? _

She growled at the imposter, annoying knight dead or not, they had sworn an allegiance to her and she would not let such things go without vengeance. “What did you do to them?”

“I’ve simply removed their magic.” Stone said with a wicked grin, “You do know what that means, right?”

Amity gasped, a witch without their magic was as good as dead since the bile sack’s dysfunction would also affect the heart over time, leaving it vulnerable to everything. She had heard several horror stories of such things happening. A magicless witch was a disgraceful fate to anyone. “You’ll regret this!”

Stone started with another magic circle, this time it was bigger as he pointed it towards her, “I doubt it. You have no one else to hide behind now.”

“Take this, sucker!” Suddenly a sword flew at him, disrupting the spell circle and turning his attention off of the witch.

“Why you-” Stone said as he chased after the knight, disappearing to the other side of the stone wall, letting Amity only imagine what was happening to the weirdly okay knight. Grunts of pain were heard as the knight led Stone away.  _ The knight will be killed soon and he’ll be back in no time. He will kill me. _

Amity panicked, summoning all her strength as she focused on getting herself out of there. Blood pumped through her ears as she focused all her energy into her right hand and pulled. After a few seconds, she could feel the stone and the metal cuffs start to give way. It was too slow, and too tedious of a process. She had no time.

_ If only I could draw a spell circle!  _ She bit her tongue, trying to draw the damned circle in anyway she can. “Curse that blasted-” Amity paused as she swirled her tongue around her mouth. She could tilt her head in a circle and focus her magic on her tongue.

It was definitely uncivilised, nothing a Blight would ever do.

_ Being a Blight is what got you into this mess in the first place! _

Steeling her mind, she pushed back all her problems as she concentrated on her magical energy. Searching deeper into herself, she felt the ever-present power inside her chest and carefully drew a sliver of it up towards her mouth, careful not to leak it into the air. She would need all the magic she could get.

Rolling her head so that she faced one of her handcuffed limbs, she carefully drew the spell circle with her tongue. A shot of magic lept towards the metal cuffs but fizzled out soon. Despite this, Amity continued sticking her tongue out and turning her head. On her eleventh attempt, the magic had been able to decimate the chains and she used her free hand to free herself from the wall.

Now her only problem was finding a way back to the castle. It couldn’t have been too far since the knight had been able to find her. This fact was also very suspicious since the knight found her in the middle of a forest. Tracking spells were very advanced magic and she didn’t see the knight with any animal companion that might have the ability to track her down.

Still, the knight had somewhat saved her. Amity sighed as she rubbed her sore wrists as she walked through the forest, she may not know where she’s going but she at least knew that she’d be gone before Stone would be back. Maybe she’d give the knight a promotion?

Suddenly something burst through the bushes as she found the knight running at her. “Good, you got free now come on!” The knight hollered as she ran by and practically hauled Amity up, slinging her over their shoulder like a potato sack.

“Put me down you imbecile!” Amity shouted as she struggled in the knight’s tight hold, even though they were running away at an incredible pace. “And slow down!”

Stone jumped through the bushes and chased after them, raining down bolt after bolt of red lightning. With a vicious snarl he unleashed two bolts that came way to close for comfort.

“Nevermind,” Amity muttered before urging the knight to go faster. “Come on he’s gaining!”

The knight huffed, picking up the pace, before holding her even tighter than before. “Return fire!”

“What?” Amity asked at the audacity that this knight would dare to give her orders and expect-

“Just do it!” The knight shouted between puffs of breath as the knight tramped through the undergrowth like a rampaging monster.

“Fine!” Amity swallowed her pride and started drawing spell circles of her own, smugly grinning with satisfaction as she noticed one of her fire spells torched the ground where he was going to stand in. 

Stone sneered at this and started sending more lightning spells, which missed or was deflected by one of her well-aimed fire spells. Each time the two spells collided, it caused a mini-explosion, often setting the nearby trees alight.

_Boom!_ _Boom! Boom!_ Amity panted as she hurriedly tried to parry each lightning spell with her own, but it was getting tiring. And she would never admit it, but getting out of the cuffs had taken way more magic than it should have.

“Give it up, I’m obviously much more skilled than you at magical combat.”

“Any moment now, uh-” Amity realised she never knew the knight’s name, “-knight.”

“Heh,” the knight gasped before charging straight into the middle of a clearing, “Lucky for us, we’re here.”

Amity looked around. How was a muddy forest clearing going to stop the obviously trained in the dark arts killer from destroying them?  _ Obviously this is just misplaced confidence. Knights and their big egos.  _ She readied a stance and shot the largest blast of fire at Stone, hoping to catch him off guard.

**Boom.**

The sparks died down and from the smoke rose the assassin as he smugly grinned at the two of them. “I’ll parry every blast you shoot.”

Amity racked her brain as she tried to think her way out of this when the knight quickly yanked her back behind them. Before she could ask what the knight was thinking, the knight stomped forward and pressed a foot onto the muddied line. 

“Parry this you fucking casual!” The knight shouted defiantly.

Suddenly the mud from the entire clearing started to shine a neon green as a symbol revealed itself briefly before a giant vine shot forth from the ground and wrapped itself around Stone, immobilizing him completely. 

Amity paid the enormous feat of magic little mind- okay, maybe she did gawk at that for 5 seconds too because  _ wow  _ she had never seen magic being  _ cast  _ like that before-and looked at the knight. At this point the knight had taken off their helmet to reveal spiky hair with some strands stuck to her face from sweat and warm brown eyes.

_ The knight was pretty- _

_ -good at magic. Yes. Definitely. _

“Alright, we’ll just send this dude over to the dungeons soon enough. Hope this’ll be good enough of an excuse for missing training. I had the ‘walk the rolling log’ drill today. What did you have?” the Knight asked.

“Pardon?” Amity asked, half of it was from her not understanding what excuse she needed and half of it was from looking at that small tuft of hair spiking right under the knight’s round ears.

“Oh yeah! Where’s my manners, I’m Luz. Fellow knight. What’s your name?” Luz asked with a happy grin, as if she wasn’t running away from a guy hurreling lightning bolts at her the whole time.

Amity took a minute to clear her throat and tried to make herself look presentable because as dorky the knight was, she had also literally obliterated the dark magic user with one spell. “I am Princess Amity, of the Abomination Kingdom.”

The knight’s jaw dropped as she started to sputter, “Oh! Wow, um sorry your Blightness-Wait no, your princessiness?” Luz flopped onto the forest ground, “Ugh, kill me now. The princess! Does this make me a traitor? Oh gawds, I thought I could last longer in the knight division!”

Amity couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “Don’t worry about it.”

Luz looked unconvinced, but she soon stood up to take a familiar red ribbon from her pouch. “Here, before I get hanged for robbing from apparently  _ royalty _ . This is your ribbon.”

“You chased me through a forest for a ribbon?” Amity asked as she took the ribbon back, staring at its blank scarlet silk.

Luz ducked her head, embarrassed, “Well, it’s a good thing I did! So what if I wanted an excuse out of log running!”

The knight before her was powerful in her own way. She wasn’t dignified though. The poor thing would also probably get killed, but Amity couldn’t help but find the knight everything she wanted in a bodyguard and also everything she didn’t want in a bodyguard. Conflicted, Amity knelt down, sitting on a nearby tree stump as the knight plopped down onto the muddied ground again.

A small gesture that made her insides warm.

“Well, I’m glad you did. Um-” Amity bit the inside of her lips before sneaking a glance at the knight, “T-Thanks.”

Luz grinned brightly, “No worries, it was a joint effort! We made a great team!”

_ Team _ . That word resonated with her.

“Did you ever wonder why I was at the barracks?” Amity asked, staring at the knight for her reaction.

“I mean, it’s your castle,” Luz started before shrinking at Amity’s glare, “but yeah, what were you doing there anyways? Don’t you study magic in the towers?”

“Well, I’m supposed to be choosing a bodyguard for my life. The textbooks call it a ‘Chosen Champion’ and glorify it as being some kind of fearless warrior, but it's not. I’m supposed to choose someone to die for me.” Amity looked down at the red ribbon letting her true feelings behind the matter be revealed, “Besides, who would want to fight for me?”

“I would.” Luz said in a voice that was barely higher than a whisper, “Amity Blight, I’ll do it. I’ll be your fearless Champion!” 

A spider crawled onto Luz’s face and she let out a shrill scream as she smacked her face into the mud and rolled around, trying to get the creature off.

Amity giggled at the sight, “Are you sure?”

“Pfft,” Luz said as she waved off the royal’s concern, “You’ve earned my respect keeping that evil dude on his toes, besides the real question is whether you're ready for the adventure to begin.”

“Adventure?” Amity rolled her eyes and scoffed, “Please, nothing much happens here anyways.”

Luz shook her finger playfully, “Well, princess, you just don’t know where to look! Trouble always seems to find me and I’ve got a real knack of getting myself out of it.”

Amity laughed, feeling so much lighter than she had ever been as she offered the ribbon to the knight before her. “Alright then, Luz the knight. Will you be my fearless champion?”

Luz grinned and took the ribbon, “Why yes, your highness, I will. Ready for adventure?”

* * *

The two of them laughed together in the depths of a forest not far from the castle with only nature and an incapacitated assassin as witness. Luz glanced down as she smoothed the ribbon over, watching in fascination as her name appeared in golden embroidery.

_ “Luz Noceda” _

Amity grinned, feeling like a huge weight was pushed off her chest. Luz wasn’t her ideal bodyguard but now that she was, Amity couldn’t think of anything else she’d rather her bodyguard be.


	2. Orientation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity still hasn't told her father about the choice, but a new dangerous mission to the border may be the final challenge for Luz to prove her worth. After the war meeting of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty big thoughts heavy, some plot sprinkled here, lumity will be more of a comedic relief factor.

There was a question that came up in those teenage pamphlets- not that Amity would know from first-hand experience- about being loved or feared. The question is to inquire what one feels about being loved by all or feared by all, and for someone to pick between the two what they’d rather accomplish.

From the honest answer to that question alone, you could gouge someone’s ideals. Those who picked love were obviously delusional. Love is something she didn’t even know, it’s powers were merely a plot device in literature. An excuse for dumb actions and stubborn fools. Those, like herself, who chose fear, were smart. Fear brought structure, and among those ‘all’ there will be those close enough to her to love her. Which proves the question’s flaw.

You could both fear and love someone. Witches can feel more than one thing. A witchling is more than just a monster or a saint. They can not be so easily depicted in a few words. Amity would even argue that attributing a word or characteristic to someone will cause them to lose their essence of themselves.

Witches change. The witch you were yesterday is not the witch you are today.

Those words had struck her. They were carved into her brain when she read an over-analyzing analysis of Prince Kozu. A literary classic about the changes in oneself over time for better or for worse. She had loved the story and also the promise of improvement by one's accords. However, such things only happened in stories.

Amity straightened her hair with her brush, it was almost time for breakfast.

As she made her way through the corridor, she nodded to the bumbling maids. They all looked half-awake and Amity bit her tongue to stop herself from scolding them for their lack of energy. She felt like reprimanding them wouldn’t gain her anything. A pair of gleaming eyes caused her to reevaluate the other reason she didn’t lash out at them. Her good mood.

When she finally made it to the dining room, Amity politely bowed to her parents before sitting down in her seat. Her siblings were not present yet and so the uncomfortable piercing gaze of her mother felt even more unbearable. She was alone. There would be nothing saving her if she dared upset her mother.

“Good morning, Father and Mother,” Amity said as she tied a napkin around her neck and waited for her parents to acknowledge her.

Her father looked up from his stack of screamberry pancakes and offered a small nod. “Amity, wait for your siblings to arrive before telling us of your decision.”

Amity nodded.  _ Which decision? Does he mean my choice of breakfast pancakes? Or my idea of what to do tomorrow? The court meeting today? Maybe the bodyguard- _

Right.  _ That.  _

Queen Odalia smirked- never smiled- and waved for a chef to bring Amity her plate. Amity nodded to the chef in appreciation when she saw that she was given screamberry pancakes with extra berries. “I do hope you’ve chosen someone fit to be a Chosen Champion. The job is dangerous, having a knight killed will certainly reflect poorly on your skill of identifying success.”

Amity stiffened in  _ indecisiveness _ . There was no fear, she was merely debating what to do in her head.

_ Knight Luz is certainly a gifted individual despite being a  _ human  _ with no bile sac of their own. However, their combat skills are inadequate while her heart is into it. Luz is successful by merely being a knight despite the obstacles along her way, but would that please Mother?  _ Amity blinked as she reached for her knife. Who was she kidding? Her mother was rarely pleased unless she got exactly what she wanted. 

She was about to give an unsure answer when her father spoke up.

“They shall prove their worth in due time,” Alador Blight said with an interested look on his face.

Odalia nodded, “Are you enjoying the breakfast?”

Amity took that as her cue and bit into the warm dough of the pancake and smiled at the pleasant flavor of screamberries.  _ Delicious. _ She swallowed and nodded enthusiastically, “These pancakes are great!” Then, remembering her place, she tried to cover up her childish behavior by eating another cut piece of pancake into her mouth.

“These are screamberries from the Plant Kingdom’s northern farms. That kingdom of peasants have their uses, don’t they Amity?” Odalia continued to say as she ate some of the berries on her plate.

Amity nodded, “I suppose they do.”

Odalia sighed dramatically, “But for a kingdom filled with peasants, their numbers are large and their resources as well. They are the largest kingdom, even our borders can not compete. I thought there must’ve been a mistake when the Abomination Kingdom was only ¾ the size of the Weed Kingdom.”

Amity nodded, failing to see the point of all this. 

Though the ‘casual’ reminder of the Plant Kingdom’s formidability was certainly something to do with the ongoing hostility between the Potion and Abomination Kingdoms. The Plant Kingdom had a huge population and was also the place where most Kingdoms got their exported food from. 

That is the reason they were able to maintain neutrality during the last 4 wars. No one had dared to declare war on the peaceful kingdom and most kingdoms were already trade-allies with them. Destroying the Plant Kingdom would lead to the rest of the kingdoms starving to death. 

The last time someone had declared war on the Plant Kingdom, it had ended up with all the other kingdoms threatening it into submission. They were then extinguished by the rest of the kingdoms. It was such a dramatic failure that the Bard Kingdom forced them to have a mocking song of the whole ordeal as their anthem.

“I’d rather we leave that issue to the courtroom, Odalia,” Alador said as he waved for more pancakes.

“Oh, alright,” Odalia conceded, picking up her fork to eat her breakfast before it got cold.

Amity simply continued, letting her mind wander from the tangy taste of screamberries. The number of pancakes decreased linearly. That is until her siblings swiped one of her pancakes and she forgot to tell her father about her champion.

_ It’s not like I have a time limit to tell him. _

Luz glanced at the red ribbon with her name on it. It may have been light, but the meaning of the ribbon weighed more than the scruffy armor she had to put on. This didn’t feel real. Some parts of it didn’t even feel right. She sighed as the early morning light filtered in through the window to her right.

Something about the warmth of the sun and the cooly air from the night made her shiver. Not because of the cold, Luz didn’t really know why she really shivered.  _ I wonder if anybody else just shudders sometimes for no reason. _ She wondered if the princess shivered.  _ The Princess…  _

There was a loud shuffle from her left and she glanced at the bed beside her cautiously.

“Noceda,” a rough voice said with a slight growl because of the time, “I suppose congratulations are in order.”

Luz chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. Her other hand just gripped the ribbon tighter. “Heh, I guess. It’s still a bit of a blur.” Despite talking to her bunkmate, she couldn’t look away from the crimson red threads and the golden embroidery that spelled her name in a way she knows she’ll never be able to recreate.

“Have no doubts, Noceda.” They sat up in their small bed and yawned, “The Blights are above mortal mistakes, the youngest princess is the embodiment of perfection. If you doubt yourself, you are doubting her Highness and her right to rule. Such is the beginning of treason and treachery.”

Luz gulped, forcing herself to loosen her grip on the ribbon. She couldn’t have it looking crumpled up. Not when she’d need it very soon. “Traitors get their souls taken. Not really encouraging, bud.” She chuckled, though her voice cracked and her hands fidgeted with the ribbon.

“Alas, I fear I am inept in that foreign concept. All I’ve known in life is pressure and stress.” They stood up, stumbling around to put on their tunic. “Your soul may not be destroyed, but you have sold it to something even worse than the pits of wild witches.”

They grabbed their sword from the wall and attached it to their belt, “The Titan has decided that you are destined for great things, Noceda. I pity the fool who thinks otherwise.”

That didn’t make her feel better, but the fact that they tried was enough. In fact, those were the most words Luz had ever heard her battle buddy utter. Luz mustered up a small smile in appreciation. They nodded and soon turned around to leave. Their words resounded with her as she got up and quickly started packing up all her stuff.

She didn’t have much stuff. There wasn’t a lot of stuff that she needed. The Abomination Kingdom was incredibly wealthy and generous to its knights, one of the reasons why she wanted to join. Knights were respected in the Abomination Kingdom and were often held in high regard. They were also free to use whatever magic they wished to use, so long as they passed the tests. The other main reason she wanted to join.

Luz sighed and simply started stashing her drawing and writing equipment in. Just as she pushed a wayward corner of her Azura book five in, the door to her room opened.

“Noceda. I was gone for a day and I came back to hear you’ve sold your soul?”

Luz smiled, recognizing the voice as she held up her hands in mock surrender, “In my defense, I was under the influence.”

“Of what?”

The human shrugged with a sheepish grin, “Myself.”

The figure at the door laughed. Luz dropped her things and leaped at the figure at the door-colliding with the metal armor -but even the pain couldn’t bring her grin down. She hugged the knight, laughing as they wobbled a bit.

“Hey, Viney. Looks like I got a job,” Luz said as they pulled away from each other.

Viney grinned, “Yeah, that’s what I’m here for. Get dressed because I’m gonna be initiating you as a fellow Chosen Champion.” The knight struck a fancy posed and winked conspiratorially.

Luz grinned, “Alright, I’ll just grab my book.” She skipped towards her bed, taking the Azura book out of her bag and putting it into her pouch. “Think I can get enough snails for another pouch?”

Viney smirked, “Not only does being a Chosen Champion inflate your ego, but it also inflates your wallets.” She then pulled out a shiny blue pin from her hair, “This thing’s worth more than twice my armor. Do you know why it costs that much? It’s because it’s enchanted to freeze every non-living thing it touches.”

Luz whistled in appreciation, “I do like some leveled up gear.”

“Yeah, of course you do.” They laughed before Viney put on a serious face, mimicking the face of a certain guard captain, “Now come along, Noceda. Put your helmet on, I’m showing you to your new room.”

The two knights laughed at that impression before they made their way out of the castle.

\---------

Amity sat down in the chair right next to her father as she stared down the table, seeing countless lords lift their entitled chins into the air with an aura of shallowness. They were all such idiots. She knew what they were before she hit the age of five. They were all fakers. Fakers could smile and be great allies for a price. That price was usually paid for in full by gold or status. All of them were hungry vultures circling overhead, just waiting for her to show any sign of weakness.

This would make any lesser witch tremble in fear and crushed by stress. Amity was not a lesser witch. She wasn’t some witch that couldn’t take the games of the court. Her mother had perfected the art and Amity carefully learned what she could. Lies became her livelihood and the world was her chessboard. Sometimes she found herself too deep in a lie to trust herself. The only thing she could trust was books. Inked pages were the only truth left in her world of cutthroat deals and seven-faced demons.

But she knew the rules to this game of court, or rather, the absence of rules. The board would always be tilted in her favor because she was above the mortal rules that tied everyone else down. Of course, that meant that it was expected for her to always win in these schemes. It always felt good to win.

The low regal voice of her father snapped her out of her reverie. “Let us begin. My heirs shall be joining us today as we discuss the current happenings of our kingdom. Lords and Ladies, give your reports.”

Amity smirked as the lords and ladies bowed their heads at her father. Her father commanded respect and she wanted to one day have such silent respect from her people. Even if they were a bunch of prissy fakers. To lead a kingdom, one must have the respect of those who are being led and the power to seize control. You could never please everyone, you just needed to please the most influential and they should take care of the outliers.

A demon moved to stand, wearing a rather big cloak over his shoulder and a badge of nobility stuck on his chest. From the crooked horn and the jagged wings protruding from its back, Amity quickly glanced over the short file she had memorized. She knew them all, even if they had never met.

Lord Gerad of the Heartswain house, a militaristic family that had been notorious for their brute strength and versatility in the battlefields. Amity stared at the older demon, calculating what information he would bring to have him by her side.

“My liege,” Lord Gerad bowed, “The enemy has taken the lives of barely less than a hundred stationed soldiers along the borders. If we do not send a team of knights, we run the risk of losing the villages in the marshes. We are already weak in the eyes-”

“We?” Alador Blight growled as he glared at the demon before him. Gerad fumbled over his words before kneeling and pressing his forehead against the stone floor.

“I-I misspoke, my liege! I meant that I was weak in the eyes of the people. You have the strength of a million abominations! May the Titan bless you with everlasting magic!” Gerad said as he continued to bash his head against the floor.

Amity rolled her eyes in disgust. Gerad was someone who would do anything to have her father’s praise. Still, it was a bold move to call out the kingdom’s weakness as the first thing in the meeting. Even though he insulted the royal army by calling it weak. They spent way too much tax money on equipping the knights to have a  _ weak _ army. She could respect a bumbling fool with their hearts in the right place.

“Do not embarrass me further,” he turned to his side, “Amity.”

Amity whipped around, astute and alert, “Yes, Father?”

“You have been presented with a complaint from the council, how would you proceed?” King Blight ordered as he relaxed into his throne. “Articulate your reasons clearly.”

The princess nodded, lifting her chin and subjecting everyone in the room with a scrutinizing gare. Everyone in the room waited with bated breath as the princess glanced around. With the speed of lightning amid the summer storms, the princess answered the command.

“It would be unwise for one to take in only the complaint of one person. Let me hear the council’s opinion on the matter. Starting with the Baroness of the Marshes, since it is her domain.”

The council murmured their agreements. Amity let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding before she turned to look at King Blight’s blank face.  _ Did I choose the best course of action? Was my answer satisfactory? _

King Alador gave a tiny nod, unnoticeable by anyone but those closest to him. “Your studies have not failed you.” Amity tensed up, sensing a ‘but’ in there. “However, our peace is being threatened and war demands immediate action. You risk putting more lives at stake when all you do is let the council squabble. Their opinions are ultimately worthless in times of war.”

He turned to the council, “Am I not correct?”

The council bowed their heads and recited altogether their agreements. It did not escape Amity’s eyes that some of them were gritting their teeth and clutching their robes in anger. However, most of them seemed resigned to their fates.  _ The council is filled with weak-willed members. Which makes them easier to mold, but takes away their individual opinions and their worth as a council. _

“Of course, Father,” the princess agreed, “For immediate action, I propose we do as Lord Gerad suggested and send a team of elite knights to squash the rebellions and invaders at once with the illusion of diplomacy.”

King Alador stroked his beard nonchalantly, “Then carry your plan out. Who shall lead the knights?”

Amity cursed herself for not getting the names of other knights after yesterday. The question- though innocent enough- was meant to reveal who she had chosen as her champion. How would her father react to her choice of a lowly knight, a human with unknown origins? She couldn’t even tell him about the kidnapping and the subsequent rescue or else it would make her seem weak. Besides, if Mother hadn’t told him yet, the knowledge must’ve been not worth knowing.

“Send the inexperienced knights who have fought few battles,” Amity said, “The more experience they get, the more beneficial they’ll be for the kingdom.”

King Blight narrowed his eyes, “And if they die?”

Princess Amity stared straight back, unyielding, “Then they never deserved to be called knights.”

The king straightened his back and Amity copied it as well. “Submit a team of willing knights to Captain Nog before lunch and send them off. Dismissed.”

Amity nodded, taking a stand and bowing to both her father and the council, “Yes, Father. I shall take my leave.” Without breaking composure, Amity walked out of the room and quickly made her way to the knight’s quarters.

As she passed the servants and maid, she quickly took off her Royal Cape and tossed it for them to wash. It would be best if she did not get her court clothes dirty. She paused, she would have to wear another outfit. Sighing, she quickly loosened the buttons of her coat jacket, taking the fancy silk off as well. 

Amity turned around. “You there, get me a tunic.” She then turned around, not even bothering to check if the maid would follow her orders. They would, they always did. Maybe she’d give Luz a peace offering? She was planning on sending the girl to her death anyway, might as well.

A nearby servant was carrying around a plate with freshly baked bread on it. Amity knew it was freshly baked because the divine smell filled the hallways and made some of the other servant’s mouths water. Suddenly, she was reminded of the fact that she had skipped breakfast. She stopped the servant with a flick of her wrist.

“Give me that,” Amity ordered. The servant gulped, “But, princess, it is for your brother.”

Amity glared at him and the servant quickly handed her the plate and scurried away towards the kitchen to get more bread. Another maid came over with her tunic and Amity hurriedly put it on over her white shirt. Then she returned her search for the knight’s quarters as she munched on the warm bread.

People have died for less.

**Author's Note:**

> Amity: My bodyguard must be quiet, follows orders, meets all my high standards  
> Luz: *chases Amity down because she dropped her riBbON*  
> Amity: I want that one
> 
> Evil dude: Haha now u can't use magic.  
> Luz: Oh no, how will I ever recover? *pulls out glyph*
> 
> Amity being chained to a stone wall*  
> Amity: The audacity


End file.
